THE  CITY'S  NEED, 

THE  UNIVERSITY'S  OPPORTUNITY 

By  Herman  G.  James,  J.  D.,  Ph.  D. 


No.  108 — Price  10  cents 
THF.  AMERICAN  CITY  PAMPHLETS 

Relative  to  City  and  Town  Improvements 
Published  by  The  Civic  Press 
87  Nassau  St.,  New  York 
Catalogue  sent  on  request 


The  City’s  Need,  the  University’s  Opportunity 

By  Herman  G.  James,  J.  D.,  Ph.  D. 

Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  and  Reference,  University  of  Texas 

Secretary,  League  of  Texas  Municipalities 


THERE  have  been  within  recent  times 
two  independent  contemporaneous 
lines  of  development,  one  in  the  life 
of  American  cities,  the  other  in  the  life  of 
American  universities,  which  ought  tc  pro¬ 
ceed  henceforth  in  the  most  intimate  co¬ 
ordination  imaginable.  The  keynote  of  the 
one  is  administrative  efficiency,  the  guid¬ 
ing  principle  of  the  other  is  adaptation  to 
community  needs.  Each  of  these  tenden¬ 
cies  needs  for  its  fullest  fruition  the  com¬ 
plement  of  the  other. 

In  our  cities  the  evidences  axe  numerous 
of  the  awakening  that  is  taking  place.  Civil 
service  merit  rules,  permanency  of  tenure, 
adequacy  of  salaries,  together  with  order 
and  scientific  methods  of  reporting  and  ac¬ 
counting,  have  already  shown  how  much 
can  be  done  in  the  direction  of  minimizing 
waste  and  useless  expenditure  even  after 
graft  and  other  corruption  have  been  for 
the  most  part  eliminated.  The  advocates 
and  supporters  of  the  commission  form  of 
government  have  been  most  insistent  on  the 
claim  of  greater  business  efficiency  said  to 
have  been  attained  by  a  change  from  the 
old  aldermanic  form. 

Everywhere  the  conviction  is  growing 
that  city  administration  is  work  for  ex¬ 
perts,  not  for  politicians,  no  matter  how 
honest  and  popular  the  latter  may  be.  Ex¬ 
perts  are  being  sought  by  our  cities,  and 
their  offices  are  being  made  more  attractive 
in  a  variety  of  ways.  Of  greatest  sig¬ 
nificance  in  this  direction  is  the  rise  and 
spread  of  the  city-manager  plan  in  this 
country.  This  whole  plan  is  based  on  the 
idea  of  expert  administration  in  every  field 
of  the  city’s  activity,  and  it  is  because  of 
its  insistence  on  a  fundamental  doctrine  of 
efficiency  that  the  plan  is  destined  to  re¬ 
ceive  an  increasingly  widespread  adoption. 

In  our  cities,  then,  we  are  awakening  to 
the  need  of  experts  in  municipal  adminis¬ 
tration,  and,  having  done  what  they  can  to 
open  up  the  doors  to  such  experts,  the  cities 
are  seeking  for  the  men  to  fill  the  positions. 
But  where  are  they  to  be  found  ?  There 


has  been  no  career  of  municipal  adminis¬ 
tration  in  this  country,  as  there  has  been 
in  Europe,  which  has  trained  up  the  men 
to  fill  the  present  need.  Political  affiliations 
have  been  the  chief  requisites  for  getting 
administrative  posts  in  the  cities,  as  well  as 
the  sole  conditions  for  retaining  them. 
There  is,  in  fact,  no  reliable  source  from 
which  trained  men  can  be  taken  for  this 
important  work. 

The  Adapting  of  Universities  to  Community 

Needs 

Meanwhile  our  universities  have  been 
adapting  themselves  more  and  more  to 
community  needs.  The  old  classical  cur¬ 
ricula  were  found  to  be  sadly  deficient  in 
meeting  the  multiform  needs  of  our  na¬ 
tional  life,  and  gradually  there  have  been 
added  to  the  time-honored  philosophical, 
theological,  legal  and  medical  faculties 
other  professional  schools,  such  as  engi¬ 
neering  and  education.  In  most  recent 
times  so  venerable  and  conservative  an  in¬ 
stitution  as  Harvard  has  provided  courses 
in  business,  and  schools  of  commerce  are 
arising  in  connection  with  a  number  of  our 
universities.  Every  year  new  suggestions 
come  to  light  for  adapting  our  universities 
to  the  needs  of  the  people  they  are  sup¬ 
posed  to  serve,  and  the  phenomenal  growth 
and  success  of  agricultural  colleges 
throughout  this  country  show  how  real  a 
need  has  there  been  met. 

Why  have  not  our  universities  responded 
to  the  call  for  trained  municipal  experts  by 
providing  departments  of  municipal  admin¬ 
istration  on  a  par  with  their  departments  of 
law,  of  engineering  and  of  medicine?  It 
might  be  answered,  because  there  has  not 
been  a  call  until  very  recently  for  such 
experts  and  nothing  comparable  to  a  career 
in  that  direction.  This  is  no  doubt  true,  but 
students  of  municipal  government  and  lead¬ 
ers  in  municipal  development  have  for 
years  realized  that  expert  administration 
is  the  only  hope  for  a  way  out  of  the  dif- 


Acuities  of  city  government  in  this  country, 
and  it  is,  or  should  be,  the  business  of  uni¬ 
versities  to  lead  in  creating  an  enlightened 
public  opinion,  not  to  follow  a  generation 
behind  in  satisfying  its  demands.  A  uni¬ 
versity  might  well  afford  to  turn  out  men 
fitted  to  be  municipal  administrators  even 
before  there  is  any  great  demand  for  them, 
as  such  men  would  be  equipped  for  other 
lines  of  work  as  well,  and  no  harm  would  be 
done. 

But  how  can  our  universities  with  a  clear 
conscience  emphasize  the  importance  of 
getting  expert  administrators  in  the  city’s 
service  when  they  do  nothing  to  train  such 
experts?  If  our  cities  are  brought  to  the 
point  of  demanding  experts  and  there  are 
only  a  very  few  to  be  had,  will  not  the 
cause  of  efficient  city  government  suffer  a 
severe  setback  because  the  universities  have 
neglected  their  opportunities? 

Now  it  is  true  that  some  steps  have  bee  i 
taken  here  and  there  in  the  right  direction, 
and  those  institutions  that  have  started  on 
the  path  are  to  be  congratulated  on  having 
seen  the  light  and  followed  it.  But  there 
is  yet  wanting  a  comprehensive  undertak¬ 
ing  in  any  university  which  aims  to  provide 
a  training  in  each  of  the  most  important 
branches  of  city  administration,  so  that 
cities  looking  for  competent  department 
heads  may  know  in  which  direction  to  turn. 

Providing  for  the  Six  Branches  of  City 
Administration 

If  we  divide  the  work  of  modern  city 
administration  into  six  general  branches  it 
ought  not  to  be  a  matter  of  great  difficulty 
for  any  of  our  larger  universities  to  pro¬ 
vide  suitable  courses  in  municipal  admin¬ 
istration.  For  the  three  branches  of  city 
administration  comprising  public  finance, 
public  education,  and  public  safety  and  wel¬ 
fare,  a  thorough  grounding  in  history,  po¬ 
litical  science,  economics  and  one  or  more 
foreign  languages  should  be  required 
throughout.  In  the  first-named  branch  at 
least  an  entire  year  should  be  devoted  to 
business  training,  dealing  with  such  special 
matters  as  accounting  methods,  purchase 
and  sale  methods,  budget  procedure  and 
principles  of  taxation.  In  the  group  of 
public  education  at  least  a  year  should  be 
devoted  to  a  study  of  the  history  of  educa¬ 
tion,  the  administration  of  primary  and  sec¬ 
ondary  education,  and  the  philosophy  and 
psychology  of  teaching.  In  thf  group  of 


public  safety  and  welfare  special  emphasis 
should  be  put  on  sociological  studies  such 
as  criminology  etnd  penology,  juvenile  de¬ 
linquency,  charities,  and  the  social  evil. 

A  fourth  branch  of  administration  that 
should  receive  very  careful  consideration 
is  that  of  municipal  engineering.  The  du¬ 
ties  of  a  city  engineer  are  extremely  multi¬ 
form  and  widespread,  and  no  single  one  of 
the  engineering  groups  now  usually  given 
meets  his  needs.  As  his  duties  are  for  the 
greater  part  by  far  of  a  civil  engineering 
character,,  his  training  in  that  line  should  be 
most  thorough.  But  he  meets  many  prob¬ 
lems  in  his  work  that  are  not  even  touched 
in  a  civil  engineering  course,  and  he  should 
have  at  least  a  working  knowledge  of  the 
principles  involved  in  these.  So,  for  in¬ 
stance,  he  should  know  something  of  direct 
and  alternating  currents,  electric  dynamos 
and  motors,  wiring  and  insulation  in  the 
field  of  electrical  engineering.  He  should 
have  training  in  what  is  usually  termed 
sanitary  engineering,  treating  of  the  com 
struction  of  sewers,  sewage  and  refuse  dis¬ 
posal  plants,  water  filters,  plumbing  and 
ventilation.  He  should  be  given  a  good 
course  in  city  planning,  for  that  is  a  sub¬ 
ject  intimately  connected  with  his  most 
ordinary  functions.  In  short,  in  addition  to 
a  thorough  acquaintance  with  civil  engi¬ 
neering  matters,  he  must  have  some  infor¬ 
mation  on  a  variety  of  other  matters  as 
well. 

In  the  same  way  is  it  necessary  that  spe¬ 
cial  courses  should  be  arranged  for  pro¬ 
spective  city  attorneys.  They  must,  it  is 
true,  be  informed  on  all  matters  of  law  that 
may  come  up  in  private  practice,  but  that 
is  not  enough.  The  work  of  a  city  attorney 
includes  some  very  special  problems  that 
rarely  arise  in  private  practice.  These  are 
the  problems  of  public  law.  He  must  know 
the  constitutional  law  of  the  United  States 
and  of  his  own  state,  for  he  is  constantly 
confronted  with  the  limitations  imposed 
thereby.  He  must  know  the  law  of  muni¬ 
cipal  corporations,  the  law  of  public  officers 
and  the  law  of  taxation.  He  cannot  advise 
the  city  nor  intelligently  frame  its  ordi¬ 
nances  unless  he  has  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  these  matters. 

Finally,  there  is  a  need  for  the  training 
of  health  officers  for  our  cities.  The  health 
officer  must  be  more  than  a  good  physician ; 
he  must  be  a  sanitarian,  and  his  training 
should  have  that  in  view.  In  addition  to 


the  regular  medical  course  given  in  our 
best  medical  schools,  the  prospective  health 
officer  should  receive  a  thorough  training 
in  preventive  medicine  and  hygiene  in  all 
its  phases. 

In  this  way  provision  will  have  been 
made  for  all  the  principal  branches  of  mu¬ 
nicipal  administration  in  a  comprehensive 
way.  The  groups  can  advantageously  be 
arranged  so  that  the  completion  of  the  work 
in  any  one  of  them  will  take  five  years,  and 
this  should  in  every  case  include  the  writ¬ 
ing  of  a  suitable  thesis  on  some  phase  of 
the  work  comprised  in  the  group  studied. 

The  Conferring  of  Degrees 

It  is  not  enough,  however,  that  the  train¬ 
ing  should  be  merely  offered  by  our  uni¬ 
versities.  The  course  should  be  made  as 
attractive  as  possible  and  should  at  least  be 
put  on  a  par  with  other  professional  courses. 
For  this  reason  suitable  degrees  should  be 
conferred  on  those  completing  the  courses 
as  prescribed;  and  as  the  work  herein  out¬ 
lined  contemplates  five  years  of  study,  it 
is  believed  that  a  master’s  degree  would 
best  fit  in  with  our  present  university 
arrangement.  So  a  master  of  science  in 
municipal  engineering  could  properly  be 
conferred  on  those  completing  the  en¬ 
gineering  work;  a  master  of  laws  on 
those  completing  the  legal  course ;  and  a 
master  of  arts  in  public  finance,  education, 
and  safety  and  welfare,  respectively,  on  the 
students  successfully  completing  those 
courses.  In  the  case  of  the  public  health 
work,  it  would  be  better  to  confer  a  doc¬ 
tor  of  public  health  degree  to  conform  to 
the  practice  of  giving  a  doctor’s  degree 
after  the  regular  course  instead  of  a 
bachelor’s  degree,  as  in  the  other  depart¬ 
ments  of  the  university. 

Finally,  to  place  this  important  phase  of 
university  work  on  a  par  with  the  other 
fields  of  activity,  a  separate  department  of 
municipal  administration  should  be  created 


comprising  all  the  six  courses  outlined. 
We  are  hoping  to  make  of  municipal  ad¬ 
ministration  in  all  its  aspects  a  career  and 
profession  comparable  in  every  way  to  any 
of  the  private  professions.  Our  universi¬ 
ties  now  have  departments  of  law  to  train 
lawyers,  departments  of  medicine  to  train 
doctors,  departments  of  engineering  to 
train  engineers,  and  even  departments  of 
agriculture  to  train  farmers.  No  reason 
seems  to  exist,  then,  why  there  should  not 
be  a  department  of  municipal  administra¬ 
tion  to  train  municipal  officials.  The  execu¬ 
tive  organization  of  such  a  department 
would  naturally  consist  of.  the  deans  of  the 
various  existing  departments  whose  work 
is  included  in  the  new  curricula. 

By  adopting  such  a  scheme  as  this,  then, 
our  universities  could  meet  the  opportunity- 
presented  by  the  awakening  of  the  cities 
and  the  work  of  emphasizing  the  advan¬ 
tages  of  expert  administration  could  be  car¬ 
ried  on  hand  in  hand  with  the  work  of 
training  men  who  can  furnish  such  admin¬ 
istration.  This  is  the  city’s  need,  and  this 
the  university’s  opportunity. 

[The  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  and 
Reference  of  the  University  of  Texas  has  is¬ 
sued  (in  Bulletin  No.  316,  February  10,  1914) 
“A  Model  Charter  for  Texas  Cities,”  prepared 
by  Dr.  Herman  G.  James.  Besides  this  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  University’s  cooperation  with  ef¬ 
forts  towards  municipal  progress,  the  Bureau 
has,  during  the  nine  months  since  its  organiza¬ 
tion,  given  direct  personal  assistance  to  cities 
framing  new  charters  in  Texas,  has  answered 
a  great  number  of  inquiries  on  municipal  ques¬ 
tions,  has  been  instrumental  in  organizing  the 
League  of  Texas  Municipalities,  of  which  Dr. 
James  is  Secretary-Treasurer,  and  has  issued 
thefcProceedings  of  the  League’s  first  meeting. 
A  l^atise  on  sewage  disposal  will  shortly  be 
issued  in  bulletin  form,  intended  to  aid  the 
cities  of  Texas  in  complying  with  the  provi¬ 
sions  of  the  recent  law  forbidding  cities  to  pol¬ 
lute  streams  by  emptying  their  sewage  and 
waste  therein.  There  are  also  in  preparation 
a  model  sanitary  code  for  cities  and  a  model 
civil  service  code,  which  will  also  be  issued  as 
bulletins  and  distributed  to  all  Texas  cities 
without  charge. — The  Editors.] 


